As recently as 2009, maybe even 2010, they had two lines feeding in. This year they had one, which is fairer but takes away the chance to get in earlier by picking the right line! Was in line behind some of the SAME PEOPLE I'd been behind 2 years ago (my brother's friend's family). The line can be slow; the fire marshal makes sure the place doesn't get dangerously overcrowded. A great way to pass the time is to make conversation; we ended up spending about 30 minutes or more talking to a nice couple behind us! And we finally got in at maybe 10:20.
Inside there are something like 500,000 books, DVDs, etc. I initially gravitate toward what they're now calling "Treasures," which has historic books (my favorite!). Rare & Unusual is also awesome...it tends to be more expensive, but sometimes they have some deals. I got an old tour book of either England or Scotland (I forget which) for I think $8 one year. And in that section, once I even got one of the better Dance Dance Revolution games (DDR Max 2) for $3! At that price I couldn't pass it up for a friend, even though I already had it. It was scratched but played fine.
This year I went looking for stuff published before 1923 (public domain!). 2 years ago I got a ton of tiny books (just the right size for dolls) at 80 cents to a dollar! Paperbacks are $1.50 and the money goes to charity! I tend to buy stuff that looks like it might be good, figuring it's for a good cause.
Once you're (finally) inside, you can easily spend a couple hours browsing. People bring backpacks, suitcases, handtrucks and crates--anything you can use to carry books. They do have some plastic bags for you but they were in short supply this year, and get awful heavy. Sundays are half-price but I find Saturday is plenty cheap. Highly recommended if you like books at all!
$31.60, baby! They had some...interesting little books that were the right size for dolls and looked almost like mini textbooks, so if you see a peculiar tiny book in there, that's why! :)
And to top that out, my mom met me later with her Valentine's present to me!
Yes, those ARE gingerbread unicorns. :)
I recently came across your site and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.
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